The Discipline Of Darkness - Part One

by Adrian Rogers
There are times in a Christian’s life when the lights just seem to go out and we
enter a season of darkness.
When faced with calamity and nothing makes sense, the first question we ask is,
“Why did God let this happen?” We feel we can bear just about anything if we onl
y knew why. But what we need to ask is HOW. How are we going to respond?
We might as well admit it – Christians are often left in the dark. As you read t
his, you may be at the deathbed of a child. You may be going through financial d
istress. You may be enduring misrepresentation and disgrace or have a broken hea
rt because of a broken home. The question haunts you – why?
What do you do when the lights go out?
In this message and the next, I have five propositions to consider. Here are the
first three.
#1: Those Of Greatest Devotion May Know The Deepest Darkness
“Who is among you that fears the LORD, that obeys the voice of His servant, that
walks in darkness, and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD, and
stay upon his God.” (Isaiah 50:10)
Darkness is not unusual for God’s choicest saints. No matter how close we walk t
o God, it’s not always sweetness and light. Who ever came up with the distorted
idea that if we give our lives to Jesus, all will be joy and rose petals? We’re
not going to waltz through life with ever-increasing health, success, a serene o
ld age and a glorious exit. Thousands of saints who love God are deeply perplexe
d. Think of these Bible saints:
Job, godly man, wrote, “He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and He hath
set darkness in my paths” (Job 19:8).
Habakkuk prayed, “O LORD, how long shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear! Even cry
out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save!” (Habakkuk 1:2) The heavens
seemed like brass.
John the Baptist found himself in prison. It didn’t make sense that Jesus could
work miracles, even raise the dead, and yet John was in prison. He asked Jesus,
“Are You the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Luke 7:19)
.
Even Paul, the great apostle, said, “We are troubled on every side, yet not dist
ressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast
down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
Great saints of history had the same experience. Read their biographies—many spo
ke of a dark night of the soul.
So if you’re in darkness, you’re in good company.
Notice that Isaiah describes the person in darkness as one who “fears Him and ob
eys the voice of His servant.” Darkness, therefore, does not mean we have sinned
or are out the will of God.
# 2: THE FAITH THAT IS BORN IN THE LIGHT OFTEN GROWS IN THE DARK
“We should never doubt in the dark what God has shown us in the light.”
It is in darkness that we have to trust the Lord and “stay” upon Him. Think care
fully: when have you grown the most? In sunny days when everything seemed perfec
t? Or at midnight when you cried out to God? It was in the darkness that you gre
w, wasn’t it?
Faith, like film, is developed in the dark. God wants us to develop a faith that
goes beyond our understanding and experience.
How you act in the dark is the real test of your character. Have you noticed in
a building when the lights suddenly go out, it’s the little children who begin t
o run and scream with fear? When the lights come back on, they behave once more.
“We walk by promises, not by explanations.”—Warren Wiersbe
What should you do when the lights suddenly go out in your life?
· First, look to the Lord. Isaiah 50:10 says “trust in Him.” Just because thing
s don’t make sense to you doesn’t mean they don’t make sense. And just because t
hey don’t make sense now, doesn’t mean they won’t make sense some day. If it doe
sn’t make sense, nonetheless trust the Lord.
· Not only trust, but also obey. Don’t stop praying for an unsaved spouse, even
if they seem to get worse. Don’t stop giving in a financial reverse. Don’t stop
witnessing, even if no one seems to respond. Don’t stop praising, even if you d
on’t feel like praising.
· Lean upon the Lord. “Stay” comes from the word for “staff.” Just as a shepher
d leans on his staff, lean upon the Lord. David said, “Yea, though I walk throug
h the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thouart with me.”
(Psalm 23:4) It’s better to be in a dark valley, leaning on Jesus, than on a sun
lit mountain without Him.
We may not understand, but relationship is really more important than reason. It
may be that we do not know Why in order that we may know Who. In the dark valle
y, David no longer talks about the Lord (“the Lord is my shepherd”), he now talk
s to the Lord (“Thou are with me”).
However dark life becomes, you will find Jesus standing somewhere in the shadows
.
To be continued.